Hello All

[chinku]

Hi ALL,

My Name is Chinku and I have been recently diagnosed with Diabetes type 1 at the age of 26 and started using insulin from 01/01/2007 (The New year welcomed me with a bang! lol)

First of all I want to thank you all people for these wonderful therads and the information provided in it.

I have been in a shock since I heard that I am diabetic, my blood sugar levels were around 680 when doctors tested. (I was admintted to hospital in a really bad situation , I was having difficulty breathing and I was in ICU for 4 days, the first 2 days I did'nt know what was happening)

From the moment Doctors said Diabetes, I am in a state of shock and I still wish it was a bad dream becoz nobody has diabetes in my family and I have always been healthy with no problems.

Any way, the good news is I am learning to accept the new year gift (Diabetes) and trying to live with it (I guess I have no other option :( )

I used to eat a lot before being diagnosed with T1 (around 4000-5000 cal) and having a lot of difficulty keeping my blood sugars down, during the day my levels are in upper 300's .

Right now my Medication is as follows:

Humulin --- approx. 50 units per day (3 times before meals)
Lantus ---- 10 units (before goint to sleep)

I have a doctors appointment this monday and then I have to an appointment with dietician and then take an appointment with endocrinologist.............. seems like I have to constatly youngage with Doctors rest of my life :(

Any personal suggestions to keep Blood sugar level down and links for any other useful websites :thumbsup: would be appreciated.

One more time I thank you all for this wonderful thread and website.

May god bless us with a cure for this disease............. (I am always praying to god)
:thumbsup:

[cheryl]

What type of Humulin is it Regular, first my advice tell them to switch you to a faster acting insulin such as humalog, novalog, or apidra, these are a lot better they probably stuck you on R because your newer at this and they don't want a fast drop in blood sugars.....best advice for you is when you eat breakfast and lunch and dinner count the carbs you are eating....ok so and stick with that carb amount for right now, it is not so much the calories you are consuming it is more so the carbs....ok let's say you are eating 80 carbs and your taking 15 units for breakfast if your bloodsugar is under 180 2 hrs after you have eaten or maybe 3 hrs since Regular lasts in body longer than this should be acceptable till you can get to the endo and the dietician, I am not going to suggest to screw around with insulin yet as you are new to this but if your sugars are higher drop the amount of carbs you eat by 10 and so you have to figure in a ratio but this is better achieved on the insulins i stated above. I know this must be an emotional and confusing time with the right help from your health team you will be able to mangage and still eat most of the foods you want to eat in moderation.....good luck

Cheryl

[chinku]

Hi Cheryl,

Thanks for ur advice.

Yes, I was prescribed Humulin (R).

I will definitely ask doctor abt the Humolog fast acting and see what he says.
Yes I have read abt carb control, but since I am new I always used to eat something all the time, If I count the carbs I am eating almost 300 g of carb every day...................... I weight 130 lbs and Iam 5ft 8' in height.

Today:
Breakfast : 30 g of carbs

Breakfast Snack : 20 g of carbs

Lunch: 90 g of carbs

After lunch Snack: 50 g of carbs

Evening: 40 g of carbs

Dinner: 80g of carbs

I just had it and I guess I will have another 30-40 g of carbs before I go to bed.

I think I am eating out of frustration rather than anything.......... but I will get over it. The BIG reason is I used to smoke and after being diagnosed with diabetes I stopped smoking so, took out for eating as an alternative.


What should be my target carbs per day ?. (I am thinking around 150 should be good right)

I am planning to gain some weight to around 150 lbs (additiona 20 lbsl) and stabilize around there.

Any suggestions are appreciated.



thanks.

[Nannerjoe]

Welcome, Chinku! I'm brand new too. This seems like such a nice group of folks and has so much good info.

Boy, you certainly DID start out the New Year with a bang, now didn't you? I guess things can only go "UP" from there! I wish you the best! And good health!

Nice to meet you! :proud:

[chinku]

Thanks Nannerjoe,

Thanks for the support and nice meeting u too..........

And My best wishes for ur good health.

I just feel grt after locating this site, becoz of all the info and ever helping memembers and I am starting to think positive (and do positive things too....) abt my health.

:five:

[ladytaz]

Hi chinku :ciao: Welcome to DF! I'm sure there'll be lots to help you with your questions! :)

[Cyborg]

Welcome aboard :wavey:

[tanyatype1]

Hi Chinku! Welcome!

[chinku]

Hi All,

Thanks for the response and warm welcome.

Great that I found you guys !

Keep up the good work.

:congrats: :congrats::congrats:
:congrats: :congrats: :congrats:
:congrats: :congrats: :congrats:



:ciao:

[MJM]

Hi Chinku, I'm one of the Elder Lemons, so to speak, and have had diabetes T1 for over 40 years. I'm light, like you, and I eat between 220 and 250 carbs per day. I've been about the same weight 140lbs for the past 40 years. I exercise a lot and am active almost every day. If you want to gain weight you will have to eat more calories than you use. I see you used to eat between 4000 and 5000 calories per day.Why did you cut down on your eating? Giving up the smoking was a real good step on your part so well done on that. I think exercise is also important for people, not just diabetics but for everyone. But consuming 4000 -5000 cals a day would suggest that you do a lot of exercise in some form or other and that would be good. But what you eat is important also. I see you have an appointment with a dietician so you should be sorted in that respect.To me good food and exercise and controlling your blood sugars are really important in avoiding or reducing problems in the future. Last point, read everything you can on diabetes, as the more you know the better you'll be able to deal with it. All the best.

[chinku]

Hello MJM,

Thanks for ur suggestion and nice meeting u.

Yes ,I used to eat a lot 4000 to 5000 cal every day and I used to exercise a lot 5 days a week ,really hard.

I never gained any weight, insead lost weight very gradually becoz of diabetes and never realized that.

I used to think that I need to eat more I was not gaining weight.

I thought smoking was one of the reasons becoz, the calorie burning is fast in someone who smoke.

From past 2 years I always tried to quit smoking, I quit for 2 months then start smoking again for about 3 months ............


But this time I am serious and I am done with it. (I started smoking when I was 21 and I am 26 now)

Any way as u suggested I am spending most of the time rading more abt this diabetes and hopefully I think I wil be able to keep my bllod sugar down.

What kind of exercise is good for people with diabetes?.

Before being diagnosed with T1, I used to lift weights and stuff, can I do that now?.

And what activity is best for diabetics?

I definitely appreciate ur help and I think from a person like you, (T1 for 40years) we have a lot to learn.

thankyou so much and nice meeting u

:shakehand
-chinku

[GrammyByer]

Dear Chinko,
I would say that your new year's intro this year is a doozy!! I am also a type 1, but unlike you, I am both old (58) and old at diabetes (36yrs). Some of my suggested words for for you are - great that you stopped smoking! - read, read, read - make sure that you go to a good and easy to talk to endo doctor and diabetes educator - and try to be as positive as possible. Life for the diabetic has come a long way in the yrs that I have been dealing with diabetes. I started out with a glass syringe and needle that had to be boiled each day and used over and over again - also no accurate way to keep track of blood sugars. Now I use a medtronic paradigm pump and check my blood 8 to 10 times a day to maintain as tight control as possible. I wish you all the best, and hopefully in your lifetime, a cure!! Linda

[sweetcheeks]

you can do any kind of excercise you want with diabetes, but someone correct me if im wrong on this, but as a type 1 diabetic, you really dont need to be doing any excercise if your over 250 BG Level, cause it could cause keytones in your urine

type 1's step in here lol

[kgm0612]

HI & Welcome to the forum. We're glad to have you with us!

Karen

[lockwood69]

Hi there,
it sounds like you found out your dx about the same way we found out our daughter had diabetes. She was life flighted to Little Rock, in PICU 4 days and a regular hospital bed for 3. She is doing really well for 11, she has 3 shots of Novolog and 1 shot of Lantus a day. We are really blessed that she is here. I think this forum is a good place to chat with others who are experiencing the same thing. Good luck to you :)

[Keezheekoni]

Hi and welcome to the board! Glad to have you here. :D

[cheryl]

Hi Chinku,

Do you take a shot when you snack or just eat a snack.......oh yes you are on the Regular and takes alot longer to peak and such, you will do a lot better if they give you the faster acting insulin also since you do like too snack have you thought about an insulin pump, I don't think you have to cut out your carbs and such since it seems like you are a thinnner person, but hey one way what is your blood sugars run after all you eat not so much before but after.....I hope they give you info and help you with the carb insulin ratio for example mine is 1:15 so for every unit of insulin I need 15 carbs......when you can figure this out it is so much easier to control, don't worry if it is not perfect yet, as we learn we also find out what carbs work quickest than others it is all about balancing out meals i find is the best way to get accurate carb ratio's. I hope they get you on a better fast acting insulin because I think it might be a lot harder to judge with R.....Let us know how you are doing and 220 to 250 carbs is just fine a day also.....

Cheryl

[chinku]

Thank you all for ur thoughts and warm welcome.

Cheryl I got a question for you.

you said ur insulin to carb ratio is 1:15 right, how can one determine this ratio?

I am really having tough time figuring this out.

This is how I take calculate the Dose.

If my premeal BG reading is 181 and on sliding scale it says 4 units correspondint to range 140-160, then I take 4 units of Humulin and then take the meal. (This is what suggested by Dr., but my BG readings are high this way)

This is what I am doing: (Experiment)

Somewhere online I read, 1 unit compensates 5 g of carbs So, If my BG reading is 151 pre-meal, and I plan to take 60g of carbs in that meal,then I take 4 units corresponding to sliding scale plus bolus for that 60g of carbs which is 12 units (assuming 1 unit = 5 g of carbs). SO, my total dose is 4+12=16 units.

I will post my results on this soon, but correct me if I am wrong and please suggest me how to calculate the insulin to carb ratio.

I ve been to a doctor today (General doctor not an endo) and I asked him to change my prescription from Humulin to Humalog as you suggested and he said ok.

So, I will be following Humalog from now on.

I am really having hard time getting appointment with endo, here in Ohio,cleveland the min wait time is atleat 3 months.

If any person is from Ohio, please suggest me the Dr, where I can get quick appointment.

And regarding the Dietician Dr said, he will set up something this week.(He need to fill out couple of forms, before I could take appointment with the Dietician).

Thanks everyone,
-Chinku, the new T1

[cheryl]

OK,

First thing is first this is so much info but I will explain this the best way I can. You have to get that Lantus as close to right as possible. NOW a lot of dr's will not give you this freakin info you got to actually get it out book or people in forums. So here it goes When you take your lantus hopefully your doing this in the pm at night before bed ok test your blood sugar 5 hrs later it should not be anymore than a thirty point difference from your blood sugar that you tested when you took your Lantus.......ok once you have that on keel and all figured out then we go on to the carb figuring......

For Breakfast let's say your finally on Humalog and your bg is 160 instead of using your sliding scale to fix that bg take what you are supposed to for that meal for example if your supposed to take 6 units take it but count the carbs you are eating and keep to that same amount every morning until you have the ratio figured out for example if your eating 40 carbs then take your example 6 units 3 hrs after taking the 6 units then see if that bg is within 30 pts if it is then you know you need 6 units for 40 carbs so that ratio would be 1:6


Now i just used 6 units and 40 carbs as examples not as what you should actually take stick with the doses that you were required to start with and tweak it as you go along as you said you eat 60 carbs for breakfast I think so what is your sugar 3 hrs later after you eat is it the around the same as you started because there is no need to use a correction sliding scale if your trying to figure carb counting your gonna be way off.....Humalog is stronger to you need to remember that so I would dose 2 units less than what they recommended you to use because it is stronger and I don't want you to go hypo. You are new and there is no need to freight if they are a little higher at first as your trying to figure your carb ratio and changing insulin around......have you had a hypo or a low blood sugar already I am wondering so you know what they feel like and do you know how to get your sugar up if you do get a low blood sugar....Key here also is to test constantly the meter is your friend not your enemy that little guy keeps us alive......please do be careful and take insulin requirement they started you off with and tweak ever so slightly and 1 unit at a time don't go off the deep end and take too much or too little right away slowly we don't want anything to happen....I am not trying to scare you it is just your so new and doing this blindly can be a bit dangerous without dr's advice also so ever so slightly tweak you units ever so slightly remember that nothing big and drastic and test test test....let me know how you are doing and will offer the best knowledge I know but I am not a dr and I am strongly suggesting to atleast swing this my even your gp for extra guidance

Cheryl

[cheryl]

Thank you all for ur thoughts and warm welcome.

Cheryl I got a question for you.

you said ur insulin to carb ratio is 1:15 right, how can one determine this ratio?

I am really having tough time figuring this out.

This is how I take calculate the Dose.

If my premeal BG reading is 181 and on sliding scale it says 4 units correspondint to range 140-160, then I take 4 units of Humulin and then take the meal. (This is what suggested by Dr., but my BG readings are high this way)

This is what I am doing: (Experiment)

Somewhere online I read, 1 unit compensates 5 g of carbs So, If my BG reading is 151 pre-meal, and I plan to take 60g of carbs in that meal,then I take 4 units corresponding to sliding scale plus bolus for that 60g of carbs which is 12 units (assuming 1 unit = 5 g of carbs). SO, my total dose is 4+12=16 units.

I will post my results on this soon, but correct me if I am wrong and please suggest me how to calculate the insulin to carb ratio.

I ve been to a doctor today (General doctor not an endo) and I asked him to change my prescription from Humulin to Humalog as you suggested and he said ok.

So, I will be following Humalog from now on.

I am really having hard time getting appointment with endo, here in Ohio,cleveland the min wait time is atleat 3 months.

If any person is from Ohio, please suggest me the Dr, where I can get quick appointment.

And regarding the Dietician Dr said, he will set up something this week.(He need to fill out couple of forms, before I could take appointment with the Dietician).

Thanks everyone,
-Chinku, the new T1




I just read exactly what you were going to use 16 units of insulin is way too much especially for humalog please don't use the correction sliding scale with this insulin I don't want you to go too hypo instead and 5 carbs per unit is way to low to start with it really is better try 10 carbs per unit and take a low carb meal like 40 carbs so you would actually be only taking 4 units for 40 carbs so if you do go hypo it is only four units and should go back up with some orange juice or glucose tabs right away..........like i said 16 units is a lot of insulin i mean you could need that much but i don't really think so your probably still honey mooning so your still making insulin so your insulin requirement is still shouldn't be alot..........hope you get this before that experiment get back with me asap so i know how you are doing

Cheryl

[chinku]

Hi Cheryl,
I just saw ur reply, sorry for the late response.
I really appreciate ur detailed explanation.
I see and completely understand what u r saying.
I will experiment tomorrow morning and see how it goes and will let you know.
I am kind of experimenting with Humulin, but any way I am abt to follow Humolog, just got the new Insulin (humolog).

Your Idea is good, and I have recently seen this web page I just want to share it with u guys , this is abt measuring basal rate and Insulin to carb ratios and stuff like that.

Ratio Calculator (http://www.insulin-pumpers.org/howto/ratio.cgi)

-thanks,
Chinku.